There is a tentative agreement in place for the high school basketball state championship games to take place on Saturday and Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena for 2014.

According to CIAC Associate Executive Director Paul Hoey, he and management of the Mohegan Sun Arena have agreed to a plan that likely will see five games played on Saturday and three on Sunday. The tentative agreement is just a one-year deal to see how it works for both parties.

Hoey said an official announcement of the schedule change, however, will not take place until later this year. He still must receive the approval of both the CIAC basketball committees and the CIAC Board of Control. The Board of Control must approve any scheduled Sunday games before they take place.

“It really allows us to achieve other business goals,” Mohegan Sun CEO Mitchell Etess said. “To keep the existing days would have been hard for us. This allows us to continue the relationship.”

Etess said he was not part of the negotiations, but it never really got to the point of a “do this or you’re out” situation. He said the new schedule may help the CIAC when it comes to having one less game on Saturday when the schedule is tight, and an overtime games can push the last game deep into the night.

Norwich Free Academy basketball coach Neal Curland said he always has been a proponent of the tournament at the Mohegan Sun Arena, and playing games on a Sunday should not be an issue.

“Many states already do it, so I don’t see it as a big deal,” Curland said. “Most people would play at midnight if they had the chance to win a state championship.”

The CIAC and Mohegan Sun, according to Hoey, have enjoyed a good relationship for the past five years.

“It was unbelievable this past year, especially with the crowd that Woodstock Academy brought (in the Class L boys state title game),” Hoey said. “There’s no atmosphere comparable to what we have at the Mohegan Sun.”

Etess said he appreciates how important the Arena is to the state championship experience.

The preliminary plan has the first game likely starting around 11 a.m. Saturday, with the CIAC dedication ceremony taking place prior to the first tip. The move eliminates the need for a 9 a.m. game, which Curland said may also curtail any complaints of playing on Sunday.

It also has become routine for the CIAC to suspend the Sunday “no-play” rule when weather has interrupted the schedule late in an athletic season and makeup dates are hard to find. The Sunday games will not begin until after 12:30 p.m., with the first game likely to have a 1 p.m. tip-off.

Page 2 of 2 - Etess said the schedule also won’t conflict with college basketball, should the Mohegan Sun Arena land the American Athletic Conference men’s or women’s (or both) championship tournament.

The Sun has put in a bid for both tournaments. Etess would be “definitely disappointed” if the Arena doesn’t get at least one. A decision is slated to be made later this month.